Martin Guitar plans to build warehouse in Tatamy

C.F. Martin Guitar & Co. Inc. plans to consolidate a warehouse and distribution center into one new facility.

The guitar manufacturer, based in Upper Nazareth Township, is eyeing vacant land in the Chrin Commerce Centre, an industrial park off Route 33 that spans mostly Palmer

Martin Guitar plans to build a new warehouse at the corner of Eighth Street and Commerce Lane in Tatamy. – (Google Maps)

Township but includes portions of neighboring Tatamy Borough.

“The primary reason is proximity to our main manufacturing facility in Upper Nazareth,” said Nathan Eckhart, CFO for Martin Guitar. “We are taking guitars and wood back and forth between a couple different facilities, which is not ideal.”

Eckhart said the company plans to move its employees and operations out of those two other sites, which are a warehouse on Race Street in Hanover Township, Lehigh County, and a distribution center on Conroy Place in Forks Township.

The company plans to build a 200,000-square-foot-facility and is working through the design process, he said. Chrin Companies owns the land and Eckhart said it’s possible a deal could close by the fall or next spring.

“We looked at many sites over the years; we had some under agreement that didn’t work out,” Eckhart said.

The main goal for the company is to reduce travel time between buildings and to create a warehouse that’s designed from the ground up for what the company wants to do.

Reporter Brian Pedersen covers construction, development, warehousing and real estate and keeps you up to date on the changing landscape of our community. He can be reached at brianp@lvb.com or 610-807-9619, ext. 4108. Follow him on Twitter @BrianLehigh.